Can't Come Close
by Emo-Shukun
Summary: Toushirou believes that he needs no one. Ichigo knows that everyone needs someone. Give a person a chance, and they will show you how great life can be. But with a wrong mistake, life can be undesirable. What choice will be made?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01**

**Can't Come Close**

**- Now -**

"Ichigo! Why can't I go to school?" Rukia fumed on his bed, dangling her feet on the side.

"You just can't, we're really busy and I can't watch over you this week," Ichigo stated while calmly buttoning his shirt, "really Rukia, why don't you go see what Renji's doing, okay?" He grabbed his tie reluctantly and placed it on. "I'll have Kon with me if a hollow comes, and I'll have the badge."

She crossed her arms in defiance. "So?" Her feet kicked back and forth. "I want to go too."  
>"No." Ichigo stated. "Just stay away from school, alright? Seriously."<br>"Fine." The young woman turned her attention away.  
>"Thank you." He replied and headed to the door, "do you promise?"<br>"Yes! I promise I won't follow you! Just go!" Rukia fumed angrily at him.

After hearing her rather loud outburst, he nodded silently and closed the door behind him, telling his sisters that it was time to go to school and to hurry up. Rukia watched as the three siblings walked together with two friends of his, and she hurriedly grabbed her phone and called Renji, asking him to stalk Ichigo for her. He declined after hearing her say that Ichigo did not want to watch over her because it was obviously some earthling thing he did not want her in. So she ended the conversation with him and thought about Ikkaku and Yumichika, only to find out that they weren't allowed to go to the school either; it was forbidden for the week too. This meant that she had to go to no other than Rangiku and ask her on the phone to do the favor for her, which the large breasted woman easily agreed to while stating she'll keep a sharp eye on him.

Once they hung up, Rangiku hurried to the other room and changed into the high school uniform, and just as she reached for the door, she heard a humming, "oh?" Therefore, she paused to see her captain speak, "what are you doing in that school uniform, Matsumoto?"

She smiled sheepishly, "Ichigo's acting suspicious, so Rukia wanting me to go watch him."  
>"Why isn't she the one <em>watching<em> him?" The captain crossed his arms, scowling in annoyance.  
>"Ichigo won't let her come to school, and the others all turned her down!" Rangiku whined.<br>"That means that Kurosaki doesn't want to be bothered at school, their called 'seniors' at the high school, so perhaps his desire to have no distractions is what keeps her from going." He stated.  
>"You're so mean taichou," she frowned, "Ichigo has never hid <em>anything<em> from us until now!"  
>"Don't interfere with the human world Matsumoto." Toushirou demanded.<p>

The vice captain then thought of something, "I might get into trouble though if you're not there to watch over me," she hinted; wanting him to join her, but it did not faze him. "Well, bye-bye—"

"Ignorant woman." He growled and went to the room to change; knowing her, she would get into a _**lot**_ of trouble before that school had a lunch break. _'Why are we here if there's a representative?'_

They were assigned to earth a little over a month ago to make sure that everything was good and not in chaos behind their backs. Everything was just fine though and even the stupid shinigami representative had said this himself, but of course that went on deaf ears. In truth, it was the first time they had contacted Kurosaki Ichigo since the Arrancar war was dealt with two years ago.

Hn, that Kurosaki Ichigo had actually become a little taller, stronger, and perhaps a little more intelligent over the few years they were gone. Rangiku complimented Ichigo on his _well built_ body that she claims to be more muscular than the last time they saw him. All of the others just retorted on how the idiot managed to suppress his reiatsu so much; indeed the teen has gotten stronger. It wasn't like they've seen him at his full strength though, but the fact that he finally had it all under control now had to mean something at least.

Toushirou came out of the room and scowled at his lieutenant. "Let's get this over with."  
>"Taichou, you're the only one who hasn't seen Ichigo yet, aren't you curious what he looks like?"<br>"No." He replied, opening the door and walking out first. "I could care less about that idiot."  
>The lieutenant frowned, "you're so mean to him because he doesn't call you by your title?"<br>This made him twitch in annoyance; yes, it was definitely a reason he did not want to see him. "…"

* * *

><p>"What are they doing?" Rangiku asked in amazement, this was the high school right?<p>

Everything in front of the high school buildings and all around were people building stands and such weird decorations, exactly what was going on? A voice yelled at them; obviously a student that was in charge, "what are you two standing around? If you're not helping, then go home!"

"A-Ah, well, we… um…" Rangiku didn't know what to say.

"We're working with Kurosaki Ichigo, but we lost him on the way." Toushirou stated.

The student shifted his glasses, "I _**highly**_ doubt that a boy your size is with Kurosaki-san."

He scowled at him, now turning towards him. "What was that you said?"

"W-What are you two doing here?" Uryuu called out in surprise with bags of cloth in his hands.

"Oh, you know the boy and the woman Ishida-san?" The student asked in annoyance.

"Uh…" Uryuu paused for the moment, not knowing want to say, but his head mentally slumped and answered truthfully, "yes, I know them." He came to the two and whispered to them, "I thought Inoue-san told you two to stay at her apartment, all of you guys are just going to screw things up!"

"It's just the two of us." Toushirou stated.

"She sent you didn't she?" Uryuu referred to Rukia.

"Yes! Yes she did!" Rangiku smiled.

His head slumped and turned to the student. "…"

"Do you have something to say, Ishida-san?"

"These two are in the same class as me and Kurosaki, they said they need to tell him something really important and would be on their way." Uryuu stated, hoping that he would let him go.

The student snorted in annoyance, "they better not be in the gym if I go check."

"I understand," he then shooed the two forth, "hurry and go inside."

"What was that about?" Rangiku whined. "He was so mean."

"He's the president in student council." The quincy sighed.

"So where's Ichigo?" She asked curiously.

"In the gym, rehearsing with some others right now—he's really busy actually."

It didn't matter to them and so Uryuu had escorted them to the gym, only to watch as Ichigo did a back flip on a blue mat, he was in one of those martial art uniforms as were the others that were with him. It looks like they were trying to a routine for something, so Toushirou kept quiet for his sake and Ichigo's in case he were to get in trouble. However, this of course was opposite from his large lieutenant that just loved to make herself noticed to people she knew, yet, it seemed that she was starting to like the shinigami representative recently.

"Ichigo!" Rangiku called out.

Ichigo barely gave her a glance before dodging a kick from Tatsuki who yelled at her, "go away!"  
>"Who are you to tell us what to do, girl?" Toushirou questioned due to her rudeness towards them.<br>Tatsuki ignored Ichigo and turned to the boy, "what did you call me you little brat?"  
>"That's enough." Ichigo spoke out maturely. "Their friends of Inoue and myself."<br>"We don't have time for that!" She turned and threw a punch at Ichigo's face.  
>He dodged by side stepping, "I know that already." The teen ducked and kicked her feet.<br>Tatsuki jumped to dodge, "then get rid of them already! We're busy you know!"  
>"I know that already." Ichigo repeated as they threw punches at each other's face.<p>

Before they punched one another, they back flipped off the blue mat and then both Yasutora and another student started a different routine. Allowing Tatsuki to come around and smack the orange-haired teen over the head, telling him to get rid of them now because they were practicing. Ichigo understood, even after saying that three times, and came to the three standing there at the doorway waiting for him. Uryuu immediately stated that he only escorted the two to him because they were starting to cause trouble with student council when they arrived, and then he left them.

This irritated the substitute shinigami, "Rangiku-san, please go back to Inoue's apartment."  
>"Aw, but Kuchiki Rukia asked me to come see what you were doing." She frowned sadly.<br>"I'm sorry, but like Tatsuki said, we're busy, and I can't watch over you two." Ichigo stated.  
>"Who said we needed to be watched, Kurosaki?" The tenth division captain questioned.<br>He took a moment before retorting, but he turned away, "stay out of trouble."  
>As he was walking away, Rangiku turned to Toushirou happily, "good job!"<p>

They watched as Tatsuki yelled at Ichigo.

"What are they still doing here? This is not a party you know! This is practice! Their going to screw everything up and blab!" Tatsuki roared, literally, in his face as violently as possible.  
>"Just ignore them, there's only five minutes left before this part is done." Ichigo retorted.<br>"I swear this attitude of your pisses be off more! You're so smug now!" She hissed.  
>"Smug?" The taller teen asked. "I'm merely tired from your constant shouts."<p>

Soon the five minutes were up, and the two shook hands with a smile, throwing off the shinigami.

Ichigo began walking away and Rangiku tugged at his arm, whining. "Where're you going Ichigo?"  
>"To change back into my school uniform." He looked at his arm. "Can you let go of me please?"<br>The lieutenant frowned and let go, "can you take us to lunch later? I'm getting a little hungry."  
>"You ate a few hours ago Matsumoto." Retorted the irritated male next to her.<p>

Ichigo looked at his watch, "give me five minutes then."

* * *

><p>"So Rukia sent you to come watch me because she promised not to follow me." Ichigo took a sip of his coke quietly. "Knowing her she asked Renji first and he declined, then there's both Ikkaku and Yumichika who were <em>also<em> told not to come," he then glanced at her, "how irritating."

Rangiku frowned, "so you knew we were going to come?"  
>"I didn't expect for a commotion." He replied casually.<br>Toushirou looked at him, "why did you not take precautions."  
>"I thought a <em>taichou<em> of your _high_ standard wouldn't draw attention."  
>The lieutenant looked at them back and forth, "is… something wrong?"<br>"Not that I'm aware of," Ichigo retorted, "anyway, would you like to attend?"  
>Her head tilted to the side in confusion to this question, "attend what?"<p>

"The school cultural festival that we're working on, it's going to be Friday through Saturday night." The teen stated. "There's a lot I'm participating in this year, greeting people and then martial arts club at night, after that, I can give you a tour around the festival." He smiled politely at her.

"That sounds delightful! Taichou! Can we please go?" Rangiku asked excitedly.  
>Toushirou looked at her in annoyance, "he was talking to you only, I was not included."<br>"You don't mind if I leave now, right? I have to go back to school." Ichigo stated as he looked at his watch. "Maybe Inoue can help you find a good kimono or two."  
>"Ah, Hitsugaya taichou can come too though, right?" Rangiku seemed a little worried.<p>

Ichigo stood up and paid for the bill with the money he got from his part time job, nearly ignoring her question for a while as if he was in thought. "Of course," he replied rather stoically, yet it was in a polite manner as he added, "though I doubt he would want Inoue to choose his clothes."

Toushirou scowled at him for this because he was right—he would die before going shopping with the two girls, so it looked like he had to skip out this time. Not that he did not mind, all he had to do was ask for some money so he could buy himself something _**decent**_ to eat. However, his oh so faithful lieutenant had to call out in his defense that was completely unnecessary at the time.

"How about you take him after school today?" Rangiku smiled pleadingly.  
>Ichigo looked at her, surprised, then finally looked at Toushirou, "…"<br>"It won't be needed," Toushirou informed, "surely you're busy, Kurosaki."  
>Again, she looked at the two back and forth, "there's something weird here."<br>"Well, whatever it is would be beyond me." Ichigo stated as he smiled at her.  
>"Clearly, it's just your imagination." Toushirou added to the statement.<p>

There really was nothing wrong.

Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his head, "fine then." He looked over at the small white haired captain, "if you want to, then meet me after school at the gates, alright?" Then quietly left.

Rangiku looked at Toushirou, "taichou, you should be nice to Ichigo, he's your friend after all."  
><em>'I have no friends.'<em> The captain mentally replied, not even moving from her words.  
>She frowned, "at least, I thought you two were friends, he really wanted to be before, remember?"<br>"Who knows," sighed the annoyed boy as he stood up from his seat. "Let's go Matsumoto."

"So mean, you only made me your lieutenant because I told you to become a shinigami." Her eyes slowly went to the table. "Taichou doesn't have many friends, so why not give Ichigo a chance?" A thought came to her and so she spoke it out, "it'd be nice to know that someone has your back."

"You, Matsumoto, have my back." Toushirou stated. "You, Matsumoto, are my lieutenant."  
>"Ichigo will always have your back, too, whether you like that or not," she saw him flinch ever so slightly to her statement and was surprised, "…and you know that, don't you taichou?"<br>"It doesn't matter," the white haired boy stated, "his attention would never be needed for me."  
>"So, that means that you won't go shopping for a kimono with him?" Rangiku frowned.<br>"I didn't say I was going shopping, nor to the festival." He stated. "Let's go Matsumoto."

She lazily placed her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek against her hand, looking at him as if he was hiding something from her. "You're so cold sometimes," Rangiku sighed and thought about it a little more. "Other than the taichou, I think Ichigo's the only one who isn't scared of y-"

Toushirou interrupted her with a stern tone. "I said, let's go Matsumoto."

* * *

><p>Ichigo sighed in relief when school finished up for the day, and the martial arts club was great on their routine, so there was no need to stress on it. All he wanted to do was go home and take a nice long bath before snuggling into his bed to recuperate for the next day. Hearing the annoying voices of a familiar gang ringing through his ears, he glanced up to see them, and another. There was a small boy with silvery white hair with his arms crossed and his eyes closed; it was obvious that he was trying to ignore them. If only the small captain was allowed to harm <em><strong>some<strong>_ humans, like the ones pestering him, there might be some less idiots in the world. One of the guys lifted the white haired boy, lifted him into the air and laughed about his appearance, irritating the teen.

"Do I have to call an ambulance for you idiots again?" Ichigo yelling in annoyance.

Immediately they dropped Toushirou on his feet, and one spoke, "K-K-K-Kurosaki!"  
>He began to stalk towards them slowly. "What are you doing messing with others?"<br>"T-T-T-This has nothing to do with you! S-S-S-So just back off!" Another stated.  
>"Oh?" The teen grinned and dropped his bag. "I've been pissed recently, ya know?"<br>"I-I-I-Is that so?" They asked; all of them slowly stepping backwards, inch by inch.

"Yeah. It is actually."

He then ran right at them, punching every single one of them in the face with a grin across his own, yeah, beating on these guys were fun despite how annoying the become. After he finished beating them up, he reached into one of their pockets for a cell phone and asked for a couple ambulance before hanging up and placing it on the guy. How boring though, it only took a punch or two to knock them out—training for the three years must've been too much for them.

"Hey." Ichigo spoke out to the small one, standing in front of him. "If humans give you trouble, just let me know and I'll take care of it because you can't, got it? People here remark on weird things."  
>"Just get your bag Kurosaki." The boy demanded, as if he was exhausted of waiting for him.<br>"Ah! Ichigo! Hurry, hurry, let's go home!" Keigo called out happily, rushing to him.  
>Toushirou opened his eyes to scowl at the high school student, "on second thought—"<br>"Nah, I have to go somewhere," Ichigo grabbed his bag, "I'll see you tomorrow."  
>The captain scowled at the substitute, "just go with your friend Kurosaki."<p>

"Ah? Ichigo! Don't tell me he's your new best buddy is he?" Keigo panicked.  
>"Yeah, pretty much, now go home." Ichigo demanded rather coldly to him.<br>Mizuiro looked at the now sobbing friend, "he's only playing with you Keigo…"  
>"What, is there a shinigami party and we're not invited?" Uryuu asked rudely.<br>"I want to come to the party!" Orihime called out happily.

"I'm only here to discuss matters with Kurosaki." Toushirou scowled at the growing group of taller people coming around him. "There is no 'party,' and no, I am not this bastard's friend."

Everyone stared at Toushirou except Ichigo who began to walk off.

"Then let's talk elsewhere." Ichigo spoke out.  
>Keigo sobbed, "Ichigo! He's so mean to you!"<br>Mizuiro sighed, "so harsh, I'm surprised."  
>"He's actually really nice…" Orihime spoke out.<br>Uryuu waved a hand, "you might deflate his pride."  
><em>'Tch,'<em> Toushirou thought silently, _'stupid humans.'_  
>"Let's go, your falling behind." Ichigo called out.<p>

Toushirou merely shifted away from the wall and followed with his arms still crossed.

Once they were finally about four blocks away, the teen spoke out, "there's nothing to discuss."  
>It was more of a statement than a question, so Toushirou retorted, "it's none of their business."<br>"So a taichou can lie about things too? That's the first, even Kenpachi doesn't lie about things."  
>He scowled at the back of the teen's head, "would you rather I say we were going shopping?"<br>"Whatever," Ichigo replied, "you're not here to make friends, you're only on a mission, right?"  
>Sensing that there was something that he was leaving out, the captain asked, "what of it then?"<p>

"Nothing." He stated. "I just thought that _almighty_ taichou wouldn't need a petty excuse to shop."

There he goes, always throwing these things in his face, it was something that he absolutely hated about this young adult in front of him. Why was it that any small 'error' the small captain made, it was always shoved right back in his face—especially by an unofficial shinigami. Though he now had decided that he did not want to go shopping with him, he had no choice; they were almost there anyhow. He had to remind himself that he was only here to get one stupid kimono so that he could go to the stupid school cultural festival and watch over his stupid, oversized breasted, lieutenant. It was not an official mission, merely a personal mission to keep chaos under control over the few who were here from Soul Society, and he was not here to make friends.

When Ichigo entered, he kept the door open with the small one who hissed, "I can open a door."  
>"Doesn't hurt to be generous." Replied the now scowling teen who let the door hit the small one's rear end when releasing the door—so much for the generosity if it's taken for granted.<br>_'You did that on purpose.'_ Scowled the boy in thought, but really… he probably deserved it.

"Ichigo-sama!" A young girl called out, bowing to the orange-haired teen respectfully.  
>"Ah, it's been a short while, yet you've grown a little bit haven't you?" Ichigo smiled to the middle school girl who was working at the store. "Why are you working so early, hmm?"<br>"Mama is in the back, so she wanted to keep me in the front. I'm going to your festival!"  
>"Oh? Does that mean I get to escort you later?" He chuckled softly.<p>

Toushirou scowled—why was that idiot _**flirting**_ with a young girl, a hidden fetish perhaps?

The girl somehow seemed to enjoy the playful talk that he was giving her, but why, what type of significance did that portray? Soon, a woman came in from the back and bowed to the teen, giving him an honorable suffix so casually, it was different. There should be a wall between that cheerful attitude if he was so grand to them, humans were just so weird though. A hand patted his small shoulder and saw that it was Ichigo's; somehow he was brought into their conversation topic.

"He needs a kimono for the upcoming cultural festival." Ichigo stated. "My friend wants him to go."  
>"Oh? So who's the friend of Ichigo-sama?" The woman asked curiously, hinting amusement.<br>"It's not like that," he smiled, "anyway, can you have him sized up for a kimono please?"  
>"Of course we can, so long as he doesn't bite." She replied happily as she came around.<br>_'Bite?'_ Toushirou thought that the woman was crazy and did not want to stay alone with her.  
>"What's you're name little one?" The woman asked happily, mentally scarring the captain.<br>Ichigo nudged at the boy to reply properly, and the boy gritted, "Hitsugaya Toushirou."

It was only fair that Ichigo helped him out a little despite how he wanted to see him humiliated just a bit, "careful, Suzuki-san, he's got some attitude for his age, so don't make him seem _too_ young."

Toushirou was just about to retort at the unruly words that spewed from the teen's mouth, but his hand was taken hold of and drifted into a stall to be measured while the teen did other things. _'I'm going to kill him… he may be human… but he's a shinigami as well… therefore, I __**will**__ kill him.'_

"This is the first time Ichigo-sama has brought someone here other than his family," she spoke.  
>The boy looked at her as she measured his body, yet he did not reply. "…"<br>"He must think much about you in order to come here without an appointment, are you friends?"  
>Was this a test? How was he supposed to answer it? "Not… exactly…" He stated hesitantly.<br>Assuming that she pinpointed his hesitation, she giggled, "ah, I didn't know he fancied other boys."  
>How did she come up with that assumption? He regained a little composure, "it's not like that."<br>"Oh, you mean you're not a couple?" As his head shook she frowned, "what a shame, you two looked rather cute outside while waiting at the counter. So then what are you to him?"  
>Forget the <em>test<em>, he was going to be plain, "an acquaintance of his, nothing more, nothing less."

After she finished, she dared to ask, "then why would he want you to come here for a kimono?"

_**That**_ was the question.

Toushirou followed her out of the stall and in to the front room where Ichigo was doing something on the counter that he could not see. Curse his small height, and yet he was not going to reduce to asking the representative about what he was doing. Ichigo stopped after recognizing the woman who came behind the counter, then looked to his side to see that the little one was right there. If only he was not so busy with a form would he comment on what an obedient little kid he was being.

The middle school girl giggled at Ichigo and spoke, "you should've done the form first."  
>Ichigo looked at the girl, "then I wouldn't have any fun doing this would I?"<br>"Oh? Ichigo-sama customized the kimono already?" The woman asked curiously.  
>"Mhmm!" Her daughter showed two drawings to her, "see! He wants this in the back, and then these in the front! It's really, really, pretty Mama! I want Ichigo-sama to join us here."<br>Ichigo laughed. "Don't say that, I already have a job you know." He handed in the form.  
>"Which is why you can afford having us do three kimono's?" The woman laughed.<br>"It's fine, it's fine," Ichigo waved it off, "it's probably about three months of paychecks."

Toushirou then thought about that—how Ichigo was wasting money on him like this… he glanced up to see the teen smiling at the ones at the counter. Was he happy to do this; to waste his money and his time on a captain who had no interest in this school cultural festival. The girl gave Ichigo the bill and the small one saw the price of the kimono as he slipped the receipt in his pocket.

¥ 58356

He bit his lip in annoyance to how much his kimono would cost the orange-haired substitute when there was nothing he could do in return. There was an irritated tug at his mind about this, about how he had to return the favor of him buying him a kimono—no, for _making_ him a kimono. This was beyond limits for the small captain whose only debt was to Inoue Orihime for allowing both himself and his lieutenant to stay over. It was mainly the reason of why he stayed outside on the roof and cleaned up the house a bit while the young woman was at school. So in other words, it was not a debt, just a mere trade; cleaning up the place in exchange for temporarily living at her apartment.

However, there was no way to repay Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Take care then, we have to get going," Ichigo called out to the two while nudging the small boy out of his thinking trance. "I'll be back to pick up the kimonos later in the week." He waved nicely.

Finally.

Toushirou sighed quietly in relief after they were a block away from the store; he could not think all that greatly in there. This earned him a chuckle from the taller one who was still in his uniform with the school bag draped over his shoulder. A scowl went towards the teen in retort to the chuckle, but it seemed to have gone without notice as they stopped at a stand that said 'ice cream' on it. It confused the small one; do they cream the ice or ice the cream, they didn't have it in Soul Society. Ichigo order two 'vanillas' or whatever and the man understood it and did something behind the cart which Toushirou kept a close eye on it, not trusting new things really—especially in this world. The man then handed over the two ice cream cones and Ichigo paid him before taking the cones and passing one to Toushirou while still holding the bag over his shoulder as they left.

"What is it?" Mumbled the captain who stared at the foreign object.  
>"It's food, try it." Ichigo stated, licking his own ice cream as a demonstration.<br>He watched to see if the teen would die from tasting it, then tried his own, "it's cold."  
>The teen chuckled, "let's sit till we finish," he went over to a table, "it'd suck to get brain freeze."<br>_'How can I get brain freeze if I'm already 'ice' idiot,'_ growled the irritated captain.  
>"So how does it taste?" Ichigo questioned, knowing he was going to say it again.<br>"It's cold." He retorted, only to watch the teen laugh a bit. "I said nothing funny."  
>"Yeah, but watching you repeat yourself is new," then added, "I meant the flavor."<br>_'Oh,' _the captain thought, he ignored the trap he had fallen into, "good, I guess."

"Nothing really amuses you, huh?" Ichigo sighed. "I should stop being so thoughtful then."

When hearing this, the captain then thought about things all the more closely; the entire day has been paid by Kurosaki Ichigo. At noon he had bought him and his lieutenant lunch, a couple of hours later he makes him a kimono and pays for it, and now this… this ice cream? This was going to be the last thing that the idiot was going to do for him or else his mind would itch for a way to return the favor. He was not paying attention to the fact that he was eating his ice cream too fast that he started to receive his first brain freeze and held his head at it.

"Rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth for a bit." Ichigo suggested quietly, yet it looked like he was minding his own business for the most part before he glanced up at the little one.  
>With reluctance, the small one rubbed the roof of his mouth for a while and it stopped, "…"<p>

"You're welcome," he spoke out casually, then looked to the watch, "I should take you to Inoue's."

"I don't need an escort Kurosaki." Toushirou scowled angrily, "I'm not a child."

Ichigo then looked at him, scowling at the same level as him if not higher, "you may be older on the inside, but for your appearance on the outside, you're just a kid to everyone here who doesn't understand that." He stood up after finishing his cone. "If you haven't noticed, there's a lot of crap that goes around, and a lot of it happens to those that look like kids, that includes you."

The small captain lost the taste of the ice cream and just threw it in the trash. "You know nothing."

"Think about it," Ichigo demanded, catching Toushirou off guard. "You can't hurt humans."

"Do you really think a human being can hurt me? Did you forget who I am?" He scowled.

"I don't know who you are because you never show it." The teen stated. "If that's really how you think, then why did you let that idiot pick you up and threaten you? I doubt you enjoyed it."

"What I do or don't do is my business alone, it has nothing to do with you." Glared the boy.

Ichigo took this very second to close his eyes and take a deep breath; he was going to hit this white-haired kid in the face real soon if he did not calm down. "Let's go." He grabbed his bag and started to walk off, only to realize Toushirou was not following, so he stopped in place. How obvious it was that the small one did not liked to be ordered around. "Do you want everyone to worry then?"

"I said I don't need an escort." Toushirou sat at the table with his arms crossed. "Go home."

Hah, that superiority was just hilarious, and yet he was doing it too. "Can't." He replied.

This angered him and just as he was about to yell, Ichigo laughed, and it startled him, "what?"

Before he could even blink though, Ichigo turned around and began walking towards him, which unnerved the captain. He glared at the taller teen who now stood in front of him, only to be lifted over his free shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Immediately this angered the captain for having this idiotic bastard humiliate him like this, it was completely unreasonable to be carried. Never had he felt like punching, kicking, or even yelling at someone like this before, and yet not do a thing.

"You're more than a taichou." Ichigo stated. "You're Hitsugaya Toushirou."

The tension that was building furiously inside the small one's body had slowly began to loosen up at these two statements. He understood that Ichigo was telling him that he was not just a captain, but an individual as well, yet he did not want to hear that. His temporary retreat came due to all of the frustration for having twice as many thoughts running through his head. This was why he did not like Kurosaki, he always managed to say something decent through his idiotic rambling.

Toushirou spoke out quietly, "you can put me down now." It went on deaf ears though as Ichigo continued to walk. "Kurosaki," he called out, getting a little annoyed now, "Kuro-!" The boy was placed down on his feet, and he glared at the teen, "why did you completely…" he stopped talking.

Ichigo looked stern at the moment, "I meant it, what I said."

"You mumbled a lot of it." Retorted the white-haired boy.

"I meant all of what I said." He stated more thoroughly.

The captain tried to ignore him, "so what of it then."

A strong hand grabbed the collar of Toushirou's shirt and Ichigo spoke, "if you didn't notice, the only reason why people don't get close to you is because you don't let them." As Toushirou was about to retort, he continued. "I don't have to know what happened in the past, but I do know that if you keep it up, you won't have anyone to help you. From what I noticed, shinigami can still die, and eventually you might end up disowned like so many great ones before you." Ichigo then let go of his collar. "Now you need to realize something before that _taichou_ crap takes over that brain of yours. People can decide whether or not they want to help you, and it's your choice to let them help you or not. But if you don't let others help you, then you really will be alone."

"I am strong enough to take care of myself and the ones by me." Toushirou defended himself.

"One man can't take a burden alone." He stated. "At least you have Rangiku-san."

"Again, Kurosaki, my business is mine alone." The captain replied sternly.

"Yeah?" Ichigo tempted. "Then let's see how long that excuse works."

"Are you implying that I'm actually lying Kurosaki?"

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Ichigo then waved as he turned away. "Good night."

Toushirou was about to follow him but then noticed that he was already at the apartment where he was staying along with Rangiku. He glanced over to the teen, only to see how far he had gotten as he walked up the street, causing the captain to notice. In return for all of the food and the kimono of the day, he argued with the teen, and not once gave gratitude for his hospitality. Thoughts of how Rangiku said Ichigo should be given the chance to be his friend and to watch his back. But he didn't need friends, nor did he need others to watch his back, he didn't need Kurosaki Ichigo.

He went up the stairs and into the apartment before going to the room and going to sleep.

"Damn you Kurosaki."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

**Can't Come Close**

**- Previously -**

"You're more than a taichou." Ichigo stated. "You're Hitsugaya Toushirou."

The tension that was building furiously inside the small one's body had slowly began to loosen up at these two statements. He understood that Ichigo was telling him that he wasn't just a captain, but an individual as well yet he didn't want to hear that. His temporary retreat came due to all of the frustration for having twice as many thoughts running through his head. This was why he didn't like Kurosaki, he always managed to say something decent through his idiotic rambling.

Toushirou spoke out quietly, "you can put me down now." It went on deaf ears though as Ichigo continued to walk. "Kurosaki," he called out, getting a little annoyed now, "Kuro-!" The boy was placed down on his feet, and he glared at the teen, "why did you completely…" he stopped talking.

Ichigo looked stern at the moment, "I meant it, what I said."  
>"You mumbled a lot of it." Retorted the white-haired boy.<br>"I meant all of what I said." He stated more thoroughly.  
>The captain tried to ignore him, "so what of it then."<p>

A strong hand grabbed the collar of Toushirou's shirt and Ichigo spoke, "if you didn't notice, the only reason why people don't get close to you is because you don't let them." As Toushirou was about to retort, he continued. "I don't have to know what happened in the past, but I do know that if you keep it up, you won't have anyone to help you. From what I noticed, shinigami can still die, and eventually you might end up disowned like so many great ones before you." Ichigo then let go of his collar. "Now you need to realize something before that _taichou_ crap takes over that brain of yours. People can decide whether or not they want to help you, and it's your choice to let them help you or not. But if you don't let others help you, then you really will be alone."

"I am strong enough to take care of myself and the ones by me." Toushirou defended himself.  
>"One man can't take a burden alone." He stated. "At least you have Rangiku-san."<br>"Again, Kurosaki, my business is mine alone." The captain replied sternly.  
>"Yeah?" Ichigo tempted. "Then see let's how long that excuse works."<br>"Are you implying that I'm actually lying Kurosaki?"

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Ichigo then waved as he turned away. "Good night."

Toushirou was about to follow him but then noticed that he was already at the apartment where he was staying along with Rangiku. He glanced over to the teen, only to see how far he had gotten as he walked up the street, causing the captain noticed it. In return for all of the food and the kimono of the day, he argued with the teen, and not once gave gratitude for his hospitality. Thoughts of how Rangiku said Ichigo should be given the chance to be his friend and to watch his back. But he didn't need friends, nor did he need others to watch his back, he didn't need Kurosaki Ichigo.

He went up the stairs and into the apartment before going to the room and going to sleep.

"Damn you Kurosaki."

-** Now -**

"Taichou," Rangiku whined. "Where were you yesterday? I was so worried!"  
>"It's none of your concern, Matsumoto," retorted the captain with a stoic tone.<br>Orihime came in with their breakfast, "but you were with Kurosaki-kun, right?"  
>His gaze averted, finding her table more interesting at the moment. "…"<br>"Oh? So you really did get a kimono? I wanna see!" His lieutenant cheered.  
>"Kurosaki is going to pick it up, he's having it made." Toushirou muttered.<p>

"Oh, that place," Orihime tried to think. "His family has gone there for kimonos for a couple years, but they can get expensive." She looked to the small captain. "That's really neat though, right?"

He stared at her for the moment, then sighed, _'how does this woman like that bastard?'_  
>"Still, I don't see why you would come here at seven at night." Rangiku spoke out.<br>"We were probably there for a couple hours, then he gave me ice cream, and then we fought."  
>"What? Hitsugaya-kun and Kurosaki-kun fought? Are you okay? Is he okay?" Orihime panicked.<br>"So mean taichou! He went out of his way to get you a kimono made personally for you and treats you to a treat?" Rangiku waved a finger at him shamefully, "that's not how you repay others!"  
>"He started the ridiculous argument by saying that I needed to be escorted to the apartment." The white-haired boy defended. "I don't care how persistent he is, no is no."<br>She grinned, "but he still managed to take you to the apartment, didn't he?"  
>Toushirou looked away in annoyance, mumbling lowly, "forcefully."<p>

"Kurosaki-kun just wanted to make sure that you got here safely." Orihime smiled, causing the two to look at her. "There's a lot of weirdoes out there, that's why my friend never lets me go home alone." She became very chipper, "it's just their way of showing that they care for us. I kind of like the company when people walk me home, it doesn't make you feel as lonely," her attention then went to the clock, "oh no! Wah! I'm going to be late! She's going to be here really soon!"

While she fled around her room hysterically with the door closed, Rangiku looked at the small one to see that he had yet touched is food. "If it really bugs you, you should just go apologize to him."  
>"It's not that." He retorted quietly. "Kurosaki said a few things that I haven't given much thought."<br>"Oh? What did he say if you have to think on it?" Asked the all too curious lieutenant.

There was a bit of hesitation for him, "I'm more than a taichou… that I'm Hitsugaya Toushirou…"

Rangiku looked at him in surprise—surprised that Ichigo could actually say that to him, "taichou."  
>"I understand that I take my duties as a taichou seriously, but other than that… what?" He asked.<br>Her mind ran in circles, trying to find an answer that could help him, but, "…I don't know taichou."  
>Toushirou hummed at this, "that's the answer I got as well. Which is why he continued badgering."<br>_'Ichigo, you're so mean, hitting such a sensitive spot on Hitsugaya taichou.'_ She thought quietly.

"Matsumoto." Toushirou spoke out, staring at the ground. "If someone had decided to help you with something—like a problem, would you ignore them, or would you let them help you?"

"If you know you need the help, don't hesitate to take the offer." She thought in amusement. "I think if someone wanted to help me, I would take their offer. Sometimes a bond comes from that."  
>The captain looked at her, trying to find a way to get her to decline, "what if they talk about them?"<br>"I can talk to some people about him," her attention went to him, "I could talk to you about him."

He flinched at this even though he knew that already.

* * *

><p>Ichigo sighed in relief when school finished up for the day once, and the martial arts club was now in trouble, a student broke her leg. All he wanted to do was go home to do homework and take a nice long bath before dinner was finished tonight. Hearing the annoying voices of a familiar gang ringing through his ears again, he glanced up to see them, and another. That small boy with silvery white hair was there again with his arms crossed and his eyes closed; it was obvious that he was trying to ignore them once more. What did he want when he knew the idiots like the ones pestering him were going to be there, how stupid. One of the guys lifted the white haired boy and lifted him into the air and laughed about his appearance, irritating the teen once again.<p>

"Better put him down." Ichigo glared angrily. "You're pissing me off even more."

Once they saw him, they all scattered in fear and left Toushirou alone.

Ichigo walked over to the boy and asked. "Another discussion?"  
>"I wanted to apologize," he grumbled, "IwasrudeyesterdaysoI'msorry."<br>The teen raised an eyebrow. "What the Hell did you just say?"  
>"I was rude yesterday," gritted the captain, "so I'm sorry."<br>"Are you saying this because you want to, or because you have to?"  
>Why did that matter though? "Of course I have to, you bought-"<br>"Then I don't want to hear it." Ichigo interrupted him.

"What?" Toushirou scowled at the teen for not accepting the apology. "I came here to apologize."

"Yeah," the orange-hair teen replied, "but it wasn't because you want to, but because you thought that after what I did for you yesterday that it would make things alright, but it isn't."  
>He just looked at him in surprise, as if the speech was made up in his mind earlier, "then-"<br>"Oi Ichigo!" Keigo called out next to Mizuiro. "Are we going home together or not?"  
>"Sorry!" Ichigo called from the distance. "I'll walk with you next time!"<br>"Ah, that reminds me, are you okay Kurosaki-kun? He told me how you two got in a fight." Orihime spoke worriedly as she came to the two who were talking.

Ichigo blinked at her in surprise before looking at the little captain that did not spare a glance and so he chuckled, "we didn't fight Inoue," he corrected her, "we just had a heated argument."  
>"Ichigo!" Tatsuki yelled from the distance. "Stop talking to that little boy! Go get another student!"<br>"Alright, alright! I'll go ask a friend or something!" He retorted loudly, just to annoy her.  
>"Don't tell me you'll ask Abarai Renji." Uryuu sighed as he shifted his glasses.<br>"Hmm, I didn't think of that," the orange-haired male thought about it. "I was going to call Ikkaku."  
>"Are these people students!" Tatsuki fumed at the tall one, threatening to punch him.<br>"Well, their like me, okay? Their Shinigami too." Ichigo waved her off.

"Ichigo!" Yasutora called out.  
>"Kurosaki!" Uryuu hissed at him.<br>"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime gasped.  
>"Kurosaki!" Toushirou growled.<br>"WHAT!" Ichigo yelled at the five.

The captain kicked his leg, "don't tell humans about things that don't concern them!"  
>"Well she knows about me anyway," retorted the irritated orange-haired teen.<br>"Don't tell me this brat is one too." Tatsuki pointed a the small boy, causing the three next to her to giggle and chuckle at how brave she was for calling him a brat. "What's so funny?"  
>"Don't call me a brat you inferior woman!" Toushirou growled angrily.<br>"Inferior? You're a little _**short**_ to be superior!" Tatsuki fumed.  
>Ichigo stepped between them, "that's enough, we got to go."<br>The captain looked at him, "what's the meaning of this?"  
>"See you guys later," he waved, "I'll get you a student."<p>

* * *

><p>"Stop laughing Kurosaki," scowled the small one who followed him, "where are we going anyway?"<p>

"The kimonos are done, so you can go try it before we pick it up." Ichigo stated.  
>Something then came to his attention, "that girl said you choose the designing?"<br>"Yeah, it seemed to fit at the time for you. What about it though?"  
>"What are they?" He asked quietly, trying not to sound curious about it.<br>"You'll see," the teen replied, "it wouldn't be fun if I told you."

The two of them were in the shop five minutes later and this time the middle school girl hugged the orange-haired teen as a greeting. She said that her mother was getting the kimonos for his friends and so he thanked her with a genuine smile. They watched as the woman came to them with a smile and two large clothing boxes, with the kanji of 'dragon' on one, and 'flower' on the other. Ichigo told her to let him try it on, but she scolded him, saying that he should wait till he got home to see it, and how it was their best work ever.

"He has to wait till the cultural festival, it's just too beautiful to just wear it." The woman frowned.  
>"Well we have to make sure it fits him." Ichigo smiled sheepishly. "Just let him try it on."<br>She then pouted and gave the boy the box. "You're so lucky he chose for you."  
>Toushirou forced a small smile on his face and took the box, "thank you."<p>

The captain then went to a stall, opened the box, and stared in disbelief at the fabric, it was a dark shade of teal silk and the collar was black. He carefully lifted it out and saw the purple petals that he instantly recognized how it represented the lotus shaped ice of his bankai. Toushirou then turned it around and stared in awe at the dragon that immediately reminded him of Hyourinmaru.

The dragon rose from an ice bottom that was a foot from the hem guard, and rose to the top of the kimono. It had the mouth open as if it was roaring in defiance to all those who opposed it, and he could not help but feel even more guilty from their argument. He pulled off his shirt and carefully lifted the kimono and placed it on as he watched himself in the mirrors in the stall. There was no joke when the woman said that it was beautiful, and indeed a masterpiece, but maybe it was too good for him. Toushirou tied the obi and then looked at himself, liking the feeling of the silk rather than the usual cotton when he played his role as a Shinigami.

_'Why is he wasting his time and money on me?'_ Thought the captain as he took the kimono off and placed it in the box before walking out and giving it to Ichigo, "I can't have this."

Ichigo looked a little surprised, "what, it doesn't fit?"  
>"No, it does," he replied quickly, making him look stupid.<br>"Then what's wrong with it?" Asked the tall teenager.  
>"I can't accept it, it's too much for you to pay for."<p>

He understood where he was going with this and replied, "it's already made though, and it's specifically made for you." Ichigo then smiled, "it would be an insult to us if you didn't accept it."

Toushirou disliked this; being the center of attention, but replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't."  
>"December is coming up pretty fast, so think of it as a birthday present from me." Ichigo stated. "Let's get going, I have enough money to buy us another ice cream and I'll take you to Inoue's."<br>How did he know about his day of birth? Rangiku most likely. "No ice cream, stop wasting money."  
>After saying goodbye to the shop keepers, the two left. "I'm not wasting money."<br>"I saw how much my kimono was, and so you can't say you weren't wasting money on me."

"So touchy," Ichigo muttered and looked to him, "I did those things because I _wanted_ to."

Wanted to… Needed to… Have to… They were different…

* * *

><p>They ended up getting some ice cream once again and sat at the same bench table as before.<p>

Toushirou had been thinking about what the other had said, how he wanted to give it to him for whatever reason it was. He really had to think of some way to make it up to him or else this was going to pester him until he went back to Soul Society. The captain then recalled that Ichigo had to look for a student to help his group perform, so perhaps it was the martial arts club?

"Kurosaki?" He waited till he received his attention. "Why do you need to look for a student?"  
>"Oh, a girl broke her leg in practice, so we have to find someone else to take her place." Replied the rather tired high school student who finished his ice cream.<br>"For martial arts?" The captain saw him nod. "Then, as repayment, may I take the position?"  
>Ichigo looked at him in surprise at this, never expecting him to offer, "what repayment?"<p>

"You can't pay for meals and an expensive kimono without expecting me to repay you for this, a taichou being in debt to someone is hardly heard of." Toushirou explained in annoyance.  
>"I didn't give the kimono to a taichou," he stood up, "I gave it to Hitsugaya Toushirou."<br>The captain looked at him, then at the table, "I," he paused, "want to help in return for the kimono."  
>"There's nothing to return though," Ichigo looked at him, "I said it was a gift after all."<br>"I want to help." Toushirou stated sternly, only to receive a chuckle.  
>"Come on, I'll take you home." He began to walk off.<p>

The captain followed him because he finished his ice cream cone, "does that mean I can assist."  
>"I don't know, do you feel like being called an elementary student by the others?" He pondered.<br>Toushirou thought about it, "I would only have to endure it for a week or so."  
>The teen looked at him confusedly. "Can you even do a back flip in that body?"<br>"How rude, I can take you down in seconds without using kidou."

"Yo," a voice called out, "still hanging out with the Shinigami, huh?"  
>"Oh?" Ichigo looked at him, putting his hands in his pockets, "long time no see Hirako."<br>"You're so mean, when are you going to hook me up with Orihime-chan?" He frowned sadly.  
>"Now why would I do that?" The teen mused, "you never did anything for me."<br>"Tsk, tsk, so rude." His attention went to the boy. "Hitsugaya taichou, huh?"  
>"I remember you from that battle before…" Toushirou scowled.<br>"Shut up kid." Shinji scowled. "You're not worth my time."  
>"Hey, hey, don't go over board, he wasn't a taichou at your time."<br>"It makes no difference." He looked at Ichigo now. "How long now?"

"A couple of hours, I stopped after seventeen though, I got bored." Ichigo shrugged.  
>"Can you do it in this form?" He grinned as he came closer, "right now maybe?"<br>"Maybe I can, maybe I can't, what's the point?" The teen questioned.  
>"Oh come on Kurosaki-kun, we hybrids don't need Soul Society."<br>_'Hybrids?'_ Toushirou eyed at Shinji, and then Ichigo.

"BASTARD!" A voice called out.

Ichigo grinned, "looks like your girlfriend is calling."  
>Shinji grinned, "what makes you think she's <em>mine<em>?"  
>He shifted to the side at the last minute, "yup."<br>Hiyori's foot met Shinji's face. "YOU JERK!"  
>Shinji fell to the ground whining, "H-Hiyori…"<br>"Yo, Hiyori," Ichigo waved, "nice shot as usual."

"AND YOU!" Hiyori pointed at Ichigo. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!"

He smiled sheepishly, "I've been busy with school and all."  
>"I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW YA JERK! YOU'RE A-!"<br>"I'm a bit busy right now!" Ichigo yelled over her. "What do you guys _**really**_ want?"  
>"I wanted to say hi because you were close by." Shinji held his bloody nose.<br>Hiyori snorted and crossed her arms. "I was with him, and thought it be cool to train."  
>"Alright, how about on Sunday then? I'm pretty good on cero now." Ichigo replied.<br>"Great, then it's a date!" Hiyori cracked her knuckles. "You better be tougher!"  
>"We'll tell Hachi to rest up then so you don't destroy the place." Shinji stated.<p>

After those two left, Ichigo sighed and started to walk off, "come on Toushirou."  
>The small boy watched him quietly. "What did they mean by hybrids?"<br>"It was before you were a taichou," he looked at him, "we're part Shinigami."  
>"…what's the other part?" Toushirou asked a little hesitantly.<br>Ichigo stopped in place and replied quietly, "part hollow."  
>His eyes widened at this statement. "What?"<p>

"Shinigami who have hollow powers, disowned by Soul Society." Ichigo stated quietly, "I'm a little different from the though because, to become a Shinigami, I had to go through the hollow-fication."

"You're like them?" The captain raised an eyebrow.  
>"Yeah, mask and all." He replied. "Let's go—"<br>"Mask?" Toushirou questioned.

"It doesn't concern you, or Soul Society." Ichigo looked at him in the eyes, "I'm not a threat, either."  
>"Show me the mask, Kurosaki." He demanded sternly, also looking him in the eyes.<br>The teen looked away and sighed, "then tell me why you always have to act so uptight."  
>"Pardon?" Toushirou questioned, only to see an all knowing look, so he too, sighed, "I just am."<br>"That's not a very convincing statement." Retorted the teen. "Seriously Toushirou, why?"

The captain sighed, "everyone's afraid of me. I don't know if it's because of my appearance, or the fact that I act so coldly towards others, so they say I'm like ice." He thought on it, "it's annoying."

"I didn't think you would say that so openly," Ichigo smiled lightly.  
>He scowled, "in exchange, you'll show me that mask."<br>"Alright, alright," the teen sighed and summoned his mask.  
>Once his mask was on, his eyes widened, <em>'what reiatsu…'<em>  
>Ichigo grabbed the mask and gave to him, "here."<br>"…" The captain stared at it only, causing Ichigo to laugh.  
>"You're not going to turn into a hollow by touching it."<p>

"Your eyes were like that of a hollows…" Toushirou said quietly as he grasped it. "You're reiatsu is much stronger than mine, and a lot of the other taichou, they might see you as a threat."  
>"Yeah. I know." The mask then vanished from the boy's hands, "It doesn't matter though."<br>"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue called out, running over and clinging to him, "I felt your reiatsu!"  
>"Hitsugaya taichou! That reiatsu!" Rangiku called out worriedly.<br>"It's nothing to fear." Toushirou stated, then looked at the two teens.

"I-Inoue, it's alright! I wasn't fighting, I promise!" Ichigo called out.  
>"But I felt some of the other Vizards too!" Orihime whimpered.<br>"Inoue!" He pulled her away to have her look at him, "I'm okay."  
>"I know!" She clung to him. "I'm just <em><strong>glad<strong>_ you're okay!"

Ichigo sighed and hugged her in hopes to calm the girl.

Rangiku looked at Toushirou, "what's going on?"  
>"That reiatsu was Kurosaki." The captain answered.<br>"So what's a Vizard?" She asked curiously.  
>His shoulder shrugged, "it's none of your concern."<p>

"Toushirou," Ichigo called out, causing the two Shinigami to look at him, "about what you told me earlier," he started, just before smiling, "it doesn't seem like we're the one's afraid, right?"

Toushirou just looked at him in surprise.

* * *

><p>AN: I have a lot of stories to catch up on right now, so I don't know when the next update will be.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03

Can't Come Close

**- Previously -**

After those two left, Ichigo sighed and started to walk off, "come on Toushirou."

The small boy watched him quietly. "What did they mean by hybrids?"

"It was before you were a taichou," he looked at him, "we're part shinigami."

"…what's the other part?" Toushirou asked a little hesitantly.

Ichigo stopped in place and replied quietly, "part hollow."

His eyes widened at this statement. "What?"

"Shinigami who have hollow powers, disowned by Soul Society." Ichigo stated quietly, "I'm a little different from them though since, to become a shinigami, I had to go through the hollowfication."

"You're like them?" The captain raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, mask and all." He replied. "Let's go—"

"Mask?" Toushirou questioned.

"It doesn't concern you, or Soul Society." Ichigo looked at him in the eyes, "I'm not a threat either."

"Show me the mask Kurosaki." He demanded sternly, also looking him in the eyes.

The teen looked away and sighed, "then tell me why you always have to act so uptight."

"Pardon?" Toushirou questioned, only to see an all knowing look, so he too sighed, "I just am."

"That's not a very convincing statement." Retorted the teen. "Seriously Toushirou, why?"

The captain sighed, "everyone's afraid of me. I don't know if it's because of my appearance, or the fact that I act so coldly towards others, so they say I'm like ice." He thought on it, "it's annoying."

"I didn't think you would say that so openly," Ichigo smiled lightly.

He scowled, "in exchange, you'll show me that mask."

"Alright, alright," the teen sighed and summoned his mask.

Once his mask was on, his eyes widened, _'what reiatsu…'_

Ichigo grabbed the mask and gave to him, "here."

"…" The captain stared at it only, causing Ichigo to laugh.

"You're not going to turn into a hollow by touching it."

"Your eyes were like that of a Hollow…" Toushirou said quietly as he grasped it. "You're reiatsu is much stronger than mine, and a lot of the other taichou, they might see you as a threat."

"Yeah. I know." The mask then vanished from the boy's hands, "It doesn't matter though."

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue called out, running over and clinging to him, "I felt your reiatsu!"

"Hitsugaya taichou! That reiatsu!" Rangiku called out worriedly.

"It's nothing to fear." Toushirou stated, then looked at the two teens.

"I-Inoue, it's alright! I wasn't fighting, I promise!" Ichigo called out.

"But I felt some of the other vizards too!" Orihime whimpered.

"Inoue!" He pulled her away to have her look at him, "I'm okay."

"I know!" She clung to him. "I'm just _**glad**_ you're okay!"

Ichigo sighed and hugged her in hopes to calm the girl.

Rangiku looked at Toushirou, "what's going on?"

"That reiatsu was Kurosaki." The captain answered.

"So what's a vizard?" She asked curiously.

His shoulder shrugged, "it's none of your concern."

"Toushirou," Ichigo called out, causing the two shinigami to look at him, "about what you told me earlier," he started, just before smiling, "it doesn't seem like we're the one's afraid, right?"

Toushirou just looked at him surprisedly.

- Now -

"Why is he here Ichigo!" Tatsuki fumed furiously.

Ichigo stood there with a hand leaning against the back of his head with his martial arts clothing on, and Toushirou in the same outfit with his arms crossed in annoyance due to the girl's loud and irritating mouth. Toushirou had to remind himself that he was doing this as a repayment towards a certain orange-haired teenager that he was standing right next to, so with that firmly glued into his mind, he wasn't going to bother being cheery with the others. The only people that knew him in this room was Kurosaki Ichigo and Sado Yasutora, so he wouldn't have to care about what tone he would have with them, and they would already know what to expect from the others, especially this loud girl. How annoying it was just to be here—did he have to pretend he was a defenseless child or something to satisfy Kurosaki Ichigo, did he have to go easy on them because they were mere humans, did he have to do something that wasn't going to be him?

"Hitsugaya taichou, are you going to participate in the martial arts?" Yasutora asked confusedly.

"So it would seem," Toushirou replied and looked up at Ichigo angrily, "you still haven't explained."

"Taichou?" Tatsuki and some of the others snorted at this title of his, "wow, yeah, sure… right."

"Take it easy, he's going to fill in for the girl, alright? He's pretty good." Ichigo called out casually.

"No!" She fumed and pointed accusingly at the silver-haired boy, "he has white hair, he's a punk."

"Punk?" Growled the small captain as he looked to the girl now—why was he called a punk?

The orange-haired teen looked at the small one, "punk, huh?" This earned him a glare from the little one so he chuckled and looked at Tatsuki, "oh, I see, you're just afraid his _better_ than you?"

"What?" Tatsuki glared at her childhood friend in frustration at the ridiculous statement and then exclaimed loudly, "there's no way in hell that this midget is stronger than me Ichigo!"

"…" Toushirou growled lowly at the insult and felt something being placed on his shoulder.

It was Ichigo's hand while he spoke out, "it's okay, Chad and I understand that you're scared."

Yasutora wish he was not called out into this argument, but stated, "he's stronger than you."

Tatsuki was getting frustrated at all of this teasing on her and she began to yell, "Ichigo you—!"

"Hey," Ichigo called out calmly and walked over to her, holder her shoulders, "everything will be fine for the festival, okay? I promise." He smiled warmly, "he can practice with Chad, and then I'll do something with him at the end and the audience we'll be very impressed, alright?"

Tatsuki was not going to go stop being angry at him though, "I'll kick your ass if he messes it up."

"He won't, I promise." Ichigo rubbed her head lightly and turned to the others, "so we're settled."

"I have to _pretend_ fight with Sado?" Toushirou asked with a raised brow and his arms crossed.

"Don't you sound enthusiastic," huffed the orange-haired teen and glanced to his friend, "Chad?"

Yasutora tried to think of his words wisely, "I don't want to fight an ally Ichigo, even for this."

"You're kidding me," his head slumped for a second and sighed, "fine, _I'll_ fight him."

Toushirou snorted, "I came to assist you in your time of need, not fight you."

"Just think that I'm Aizen and you'll do fine Toushirou." Ichigo waved his hand.

Aizen.

That name still pissed him off so much because of that damage that name alone had done to his childhood friend by manipulating her for so long. His fists tightened when remembering how the girl begged and pleaded to him for the return of that bastard that nearly killed them both. Having to think about it made his blood boil and literally see Kurosaki Ichigo as Aizen Sousuke and so he leaped into action and threw a punch at him. It was dodged and so he kicked him, but then was immediately pinned down by the other, other to slowly see that it was Ichigo, and not _that_ man.

"I said _think_ that I'm him, I didn't say I _was_ him." With that said, the teen got off him. "You okay?"

"The brat violently attacked you at random and you're asking if he's okay?" Tatsuki asked angrily.

"It wasn't intentional," he replied to the girl and gave Toushirou a help hand, "get up Toushirou."

"It's Hitsugaya taichou to you." Stated the rebellious boy who got up on his own. "I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo replied before he could apologize, "now then, let's just practice."

"Fine." Growled Tatsuki who walked over to Yasutora as she talked to Ichigo, "I'll be his partner."

They all nodded in agreement and everyone began to practice.

* * *

><p>"Kurosaki, why does that girl insist on barking orders and constantly yells at you?" Toushirou asked after they finished dressing in the locker rooms and heading out to the blacktop.<p>

Ichigo shrugged at this. "It's just how she is with me, I don't mind, I get enough of it from Rukia."

"Ah! Kurosaki-kun! Hitsugaya-kun!" Orihime's voice called out happily to them as she ran over.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki complained as she walked over to where they were, "stop running around."

Orihime only smiled happily after she had greeted the two and looked at Tatsuki to see what was wrong with running around. Coming from the other direction was Keigo and Mizuiro who waved at Ichigo and the others with a cheerful smile that they usually had. Toushirou looked at them all with a confused and annoyed expression that he could only sigh at all of this in front of him. A bell then rang all around the high school and it time for everyone to take a break go eat their lunch now.

"Lunch already, huh?" Ichigo sighed and looked at the guys. "Ready to go get some food then?"

"YES!" Keigo clung to Ichigo's arm happily. "LET'S GO BUY SOME LUNCH!"

"Ah, we'll wait for you on rooftop Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime waved happily.

"We are?" Tatsuki groaned. "Just hurry up! I'm completely starving!"

"Got it." Ichigo waved and the guys followed him.

Toushirou just stood there confusedly, "…"

Orihime looked at Tatsuki, "you've been so harsh on Kurosaki-kun the last two years."

"I'm still upset with him, saying not to get involved with him and all." Growled her friend.

"Aw, but Kurosaki-kun didn't mean it, he needs us all." She frowned sadly. "We're his strength."

"Tch… I understand that, but he's such a jerk about letting others help." Retorted the teen fighter.

"Wah! Don't be mean Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime whined. "Kurosaki-kun doesn't like us harmed!"

'_His strength…?'_ Toushirou looked at the two girls, _'they are… his strength? How is that even—'_

"Toushirou! What are you doing!" Ichigo called out from the distance where he grinned. "Come on, I bet your hungry, right? Let's go already!" His grin widened as he thought of a way to tease him. "Unless you wanna be stuck with the girls, I completely understand! Inoue's food _**is**_ pretty good!"

"Kurosaki you bastard," growled the captain who crossed his arms.

"Hitsugaya-kun, do you need money for food?" Orihime asked curiously.

'_Why is this woman so thick headed?'_ He asked himself mentally.

"Let me get him some money Kurosaki-kun! We'll be right back!"

His cheeks tinted in embarrassment at this, "damn it all."

"Don't worry about it Inoue, I got it under control." Ichigo called.

Toushirou turned immediately to the orange-haired teen, "you said that you only had enough to buy ice cream last time. Did you suddenly get paid or something?" He glared at him as the brown-haired idiot began sobbing and the black-haired one began to laugh lightly and this angered him. "What are you humans laughing about? I said nothing funny!"

"Ichigo! I didn't know that you were gay!" Keigo cried. "Why do you buy him ice cream!"

Tatsuki then bursted out laughing, "Ichigo's so romantic! So that's why he wanted him to join?"

"You guys are mean," Mizuiro looked at the two, "you shouldn't pick on Ichigo, even if he's gay."

"EH? KUROSAKI-KUN'S GAY?" Orihime gasped at this new discovery, trying to admire him.

Yasutora looked at Ichigo to see that his head was dipped, and his reiatsu increasing, "…Ichigo."

"Damn you're all pissing me off suddenly." Ichigo growled and grabbed Kon from his side angrily, "you!" He roared furiously before shoving his hand in his mouth. "We're switching!"

After being swallowed, Kon in Ichigo's body waved around, "why did you do that so suddenly?"

"I'm gonna go look for some hollow!" Ichigo grumbled loudly. "Just eat with the others!"

As soon as he was gone, Kon crossed his arms, "so moody!" He came to the window. "So gay!"

Toushirou kicked the idiot who flopped to the ground, "you're annoying for a modified soul."

"Wah! The brat hit me—" Kon saw Orihime and launched at her, "nee-chan!" He was kicked.

"What the hell just happened?" Tatsuki roared. "Now there's two Ichigo's?"

"Ah… well… Kon takes over Kurosaki-kun body when he goes to fight." Orihime answered.

"Aw, but we were just playing with him." Mizuiro sighed and looked to Keigo, "this is your fault."

"ME?" Keigo called out in a whining fashion. "But I wasn't serious either! It was funny."

Toushirou's phone beeped, "damn it," he opened his phone, "there's a hollow nearby."

"I'll do it," Yasutora stated and raised a hand up to clench his fist over his chest, "where is it?"

"No, to have you do it would be an issue to leaving this location. Leave it to Kurosaki."

"That way he can vent his frustration huh?" Tatsuki snorted. "You people are weird."

Orihime frowned, "he seemed a little angry though, he might not restrain himself."

"Orihime-chan," a voice called out cheerfully.

"Ah! Hirako-kun!" She waved happily to him.

"Where's Ichigo." The girl next to Shinji glared.

"Hiyori, don't be so rude." Shinji sighed lightly.

Hiyori scowled at Shinji, "why should I have to be nice to a human? Jeez! I wanted to fight Ichigo because he's so pissed off!" She angrily crossed her arms and looked in a direction and snorted, "ah, so he finished off the hollow already? Hmm, he's coming." Her scowl lifted to a grin, "yo."

"Yo." Ichigo replied after making a final flash step, which parted the two vizards from the others.

"Your taichou was worried that you wouldn't get the hollow in time." Shinji sneered lightly.

"What do you want, I'm at school." He stated in annoyance. "I said I would train on Sunday."

"I'm bored now though." Hiyori summoned her mask and went after him.

Ichigo immediately used a flash step to dodge her attack as he transformed into his bankai in the process before summoning his mask and then grabbed her by her neck as he did when he lost control of himself long ago. Shinji snorted at this and started to walk over towards the two masked others as he began summoning his on mask that represented the look of a pharaoh, but it seems that Hiyori did not want him to interfere with them quite yet. Hiyori viscously kicked Ichigo in the gut but had little affect on him as he grabbed her leg and threw her at the other vizard who caught her by instincts which made him throw his eyes away from Ichigo which was a big mistake. In the blink of an eye, the orange-haired creature used his flash steps and appeared before the two of them, and before Shinji could settle the ex-lieutenant on the ground to grab his zanpakuto, Ichigo had smashed Hiyori's mask with the end of his own zanpakuto. The girl was wide eyed and practically terrified at what all just happened—all she could truly remember at this moment was kicking this guy in the stomach and thrown aside like a rage doll—and now her mask cracked and shattered.

"I said I would train on Sunday," Ichigo stated before he removed his mask and reverted out of his bankai, "if you don't mind, we were going to have lunch," the orange-haired boy entered his body and placed Kon into the stuffed animal and placed him on his shoulder, "let's go guys…"

Everyone started at him in a surprised manner, even Toushirou.

* * *

><p>"Ichigo," Keigo called out a little nervously, "um… who… who were those two?"<p>

The teen that he was talking to was laying on his back with his eyes staring out at the sky coolly though no one could really see. They were all seated in a circle in order; Mizuiro, Keigo, Yasutora, Ichigo, Toushirou, Uryuu, Orihime, and then finally Tatsuki. It was only Ichigo who was the who did not buy a lunch to eat—instead he just bought one for Toushirou in which the captain noticed.

"Monsters, like me." Ichigo replied calmly, closing his eyes softly.

Toushirou caught glimpse of the reddish orange-haired girl flinching, _'she agrees unwillingly.'_

"K-Kurosaki-kun, don't be so harsh on yourself!" Orihime beamed happily. "You're not a monster!"

'_To lie to someone so obviously,'_ he looked at his tray of food, _'is it really okay this way?'_

"It's okay Inoue." Ichigo called out. "I'm sorry that I transformed in front of you, I shouldn't have—"

"No, no, no, no!" Her hands waved abruptly in the air. "I-It's okay Kurosaki-kun! Really!"

"I-Inoue-san, be careful where you wave your arms please," Uryuu asked nervously to the girl.

"Wah! I'm sorry! You're okay right? You're okay Ishida-kun?" Orihime panicked instantly.

Tatsuki sighed and patted her head softly, "okay, okay, calm down Orihime."

Everyone then heard Ichigo's stomach growl, and yet the teen acted as if it went unheard.

Toushirou mentally growled at the idiot who did not buy himself a tray of food when they went to the cafeteria, and he was aware that it was because he did not have enough money to do such at thing. The food at the school was a simple meal though; two sandwiches, a drink, an apple, and a water bottle that was given out to the students who were participating in the cultural festival this year. Of course, the thought of offering Ichigo one of the sandwiches was waiting to spew out of his mouth, but after saying that he bought the two of them ice cream had referred him as gay now. All of his friends said that it was a joke and that they were just kidding, and even though Ichigo swayed it off and accepted it, that did not excuse the fact that he was angry. Would offering him a sandwich be all that wrong and consider either of them as a homosexual of some variety—he had no clue…

'_Humans are confusing,_' noted the small captain and he glanced at the unofficial shinigami that was basking in the sunlight and growled at him, "Kurosaki," he spoke out before thinking, _'damn.'_

"What is it?" Replied the orange-haired ally with his eyes still closed peacefully.

"Take the other sandwich, I don't need two." Just then, his own stomach growled.

He chuckled at this and retorted, "no thanks, I bought it for you anyway, remember?"

"You're an inferior nuisance Kurosaki," the captain growled, "take the sandwich."

His eyes opened softly and tried the word, "_inferior_, huh?" He did not like the word.

Toushirou probably should not have said that, but he was getting annoyed. "Take it."

"Fine." There was no need to argue with the small captain; he offered, so he'll accept.

He watched as the teen took the sandwich from the tray and started to eat it slowly as if there was something on his mind, but the captain was not going to ask about it. The thought of quenching his thirst was more in his mind than worrying over whatever that guy was thinking about. Toushirou stared at the weird beverage carton and wondered how the humans drink from it; with bottles the entrance to the liquid was on the top, but this would didn't have one. A hand then took the carton from the right and he scowled at Ichigo, only to watch as he made an entrance with a straw and handed it back to him. But before he could even give any type of gratitude, the teen stood up and walked away towards the tall railing that surrounded the edges—what the hell was with him?

"Whoa!" Orihime quickly pointed towards Ichigo's spot. "That man just came out of nowhere!"

Toushirou looked at her in annoyance because he did not feel a presence, then turned to look at the teen, only to see a man stand next to him in a cloak—why didn't he have a presence? _'That outfit…'_ he watched the two talking to one another and spoke out, "it must be Zangetsu." The little one took a sip of his drink to find it as a grape flavor and he heard the Quincy next to him shuffle.

"Zangetsu as in his zanpakuto Zangetsu?" Uryuu scowled at the boy with confusion.

His eyes rolled mentally. "Shinigami can materialize their zanpakuto."

"Zangetsu looks like Ichigo's bankai…" Yasutora commented.

Toushirou sighed at this, _'why am I explaining? Their not shinigami.'_

"Kurosaki-kun… seems upset," Orihime called out quietly, and they all looked at him.

Ichigo felt their eyes on him and he glanced in their direction for the moment as Zangetsu told him something that seemed a little important. He replied to the older man though, saying that it was nothing that he should worry about and that there was no need to panic. The orange-haired boy allowed the man to vanish as he turned away in the direction of the others and rubbed his head in annoyance. Everything was so much easier when Rukia had given him her shinigami powers, but because he had his own, he could go farther—he could become stronger. His anger slowly rose as he mentally questioned himself about who he was and what he was, but the thought was cut off just as he quickly questioned himself and regained his stability and looked at the others.

"I think I'm going to leave a little early today." Ichigo stated as he was headed to the staircase.

Orihime turned to Toushirou once he was gone, "can you go see what's wrong with him?"

"Me?" Toushirou blinked in annoyed confusion—why him; he did not know much about Ichigo.

"You're a shinigami." Uryuu pointed out as if it would help the case somehow.

Yasutora then added as he pointed to the boy's tray, "plus you finished eating."

"He seems to talk to you stuff," Tatsuki snorted, "that bastard doesn't tell me anything."

"I doubt anyone would if you continued to yell at them continuously." Toushirou retorted.

She scowled at the captain, "you don't know anything."

The boy snorted and got up, "I'll take my leave then," he then added mentally, _'if only to get away from this annoying woman. She would make a good partner for Kurosaki Ichigo because they can be so obnoxious.'_ After he started to walked down the staircase, he corrected himself, _'Kurosaki is different from before—he's more centered somehow, what is the cause of that.'_

After he finished the staircase and went to the first floor, a voice called out, "what are you doing?"

Toushirou stopped in place with his eyes widened, _'K-Kurosaki?'_ He regained his composure and turned to the side to look at him, "I was elected to see what was 'wrong' with you, Kurosaki."

"Is that so?" He hummed with dissatisfaction. "Well, whatever, you should know I might not talk."

"That much I figured, yet I made my absence due to that girl." The captain retorted sternly.

"Tatsuki means well, I guess…" Ichigo started to walk off, "when we were kids, I was a baby."

Toushirou did not reply to this—not because he did not want to, he just did not know how.

"Since I could remember I was picked on, then Tatsuki appeared and ended up protecting me and cheering me up." Ichigo stated contentedly as they left the school. "I think I became a bit of an ass after my mother died, but she understood. Until I became a shinigami, things were fine." He then quietly sighed as they walked down the street. "Now more than ever she's insecure of whom I am because I'm stronger, but not… at least, not as a human."

"That girl said she's upset that you said to not be involved with you." Toushirou stopped in place to prove he would be serious. "Why should you state otherwise for others if you quest for the same?"

"That was two years ago," Ichigo whispered, "I know better now."

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT:<strong> Okay, so you can't really expect me to update any time soon. I am moving in 20 days, 1300 miles (2093 kilometers) away from where I'm currently living. It'll be a while for me to get back on my game!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

Can't Come Close

**- Previously -**

"Zangetsu as in his zanpakuto Zangetsu?" Uryuu scowled at the boy with confusion.

His eyes rolled mentally. "Shinigami can materialize their zanpakuto."

"Zangetsu looks like Ichigo's bankai…" Yasutora commented.

Toushirou sighed at this, _'why am I explaining? Their not shinigami.'_

"Kurosaki-kun… seems upset," Orihime called out quietly, and they all looked at him.

Ichigo felt their eyes on him and he glanced in their direction for the moment as Zangetsu told him something that seemed a little important. He replied to the older man though, saying that it was nothing that he should worry about and that there was no need to panic. The orange-haired boy allowed the man to vanish as he turned away in the direction of the others and rubbed his head in annoyance. Everything was so much easier when Rukia had given him her shinigami powers, but because he had his own, he could go farther—he could become stronger. His anger slowly rose as he mentally questioned himself about who he was and what he was, but the thought was cut off just as he quickly questioned himself and regained his stability and looked at the others.

"I think I'm going to leave a little early today." Ichigo stated as he was headed to the staircase.

Orihime turned to Toushirou once he was gone, "can you go see what's wrong with him?"

"Me?" Toushirou blinked in annoyed confusion—why him; he didn't know much about Ichigo.

"You're a shinigami." Uryuu pointed out as if it would help the case somehow.

Yasutora then added as he pointed to the boy's tray, "plus you finished eating."

"He seems to talk to you anyone," Tatsuki snorted, "that bastard doesn't tell me anything."

"I doubt anyone would if you continued to yell at them continuously." Toushirou retorted.

She scowled at the captain, "you don't know anything."

The boy snorted and got up, "I'll take my leave then," he then added mentally, _'if only to get away from this annoying woman. She would make a good partner for Kurosaki Ichigo because they can be so obnoxious.'_ After he started to walked down the staircase, he corrected himself, _'Kurosaki is different from that now—he's more centered somehow, what is the cause of that.'_

After he finished the staircase and went to the first floor, a voice called out, "what are you doing?"

Toushirou stopped in place with his eyes widened, _'K-Kurosaki?!'_ He regained his composure and turned to the side to look at him, "I was elected to see what was 'wrong' with you, Kurosaki."

"Is that so?" He hummed with dissatisfaction. "Well, whatever, you should know I might not talk."

"That much I figured, yet I made my absence due to that girl." The captain retorted sternly.

"Tatsuki means well, I guess…" Ichigo started to walk off, "when we were kids, I was a baby."

Toushirou didn't reply to this—not because he didn't want to, he just didn't know how.

"Since I could remember I was picked on, then Tatsuki appeared and ended up protecting me and cheering me up." Ichigo stated contentedly as they left the school. "I think I became a bit of an ass after my mother died, but she understood. Until I became a shinigami, things were fine." He then quietly sighed as they walked down the street. "Now more than ever she's insecure of who I am because I'm stronger, but not… at least, not as a human."

"That girl said that upset that you said to not be involved with you." Toushirou stopped in place to prove he would be serious. "Why should you state otherwise for others if you quest for the same?"

"That was two years ago," Ichigo whispered, "I know better now."

- Now -

Toushirou stared at the stars quietly as he laid back against the rooftop because there was no moon out tonight and it was midnight. He did not want to be inside with those two girls; so immature and ditzy—it was amazing how he could put up with one of them. His eyes dropped for some well deserved sleep, but something stirred him out of his sleep stage; a powerful reiatsu. The captain growled in annoyance when recognizing the reiatsu and wondered why the teen would be awake.

No sleep was going to be received with the orange-haired substitute shinigami being powered up.

Suddenly his cell phone beeped to signal out that there was a hollow present and he growled even more as he stood up—then the signal died. Was the hollow already taken care of? His cell phone beeped once again to signal him that there was another hollow—and again the signal died. What was going on then if everything was going to start and stop so suddenly, but speaking of sudden. His cell phone then went crazy, saying that there was over fifty hollow presented in the human world instantaneously. Enough was enough and he took in his green pill and told the soul to stay out of harms way while he went to fight off the hollows. As he glanced at his phone for the nearest one, he watched as at least ten or twenty disappeared at the same time. Angered by all of this, he hurried by using flash step, and just as a hollow appeared in front of him, it was cut in two before he even had a chance to blink and grasp his zanpakuto.

Then he saw him, _'K-Kurosaki.'_

The orange-haired teen was blindfolded for some reason and was gone before Toushirou could even ask what he was doing. His head shifted upwards in the direction of the white-haired captain and lifted his zanpakuto, which startled the boy. He was gone in a flash step, which made the boy relax, but then felt the presence of a hollow behind him and turned around, and it was already cut.

Ichigo stood there blindfolded, "you shouldn't interfere like that Toushirou."

He glared at the teen and retorted. "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Just training," his hand came up and untied the blindfold, "their all gone, right?"

Toushirou's brows fused together and he looked at his phone, "…their gone."

"So there were sixty-seven hollows that time… hmm." He hummed calmly.

"You're the one who brought them here?" Questioned the now angrily boy.

Ichigo looked at him emotionless for the moment, "yes, I did."

"Do you know the damage you could've done?!" He glared.

The teen sighed. "What are you going to do about it, Toushirou?"

Was a trick question? He could only reply. "What's done is done."

"What are you doing out here?" Asked the orange-haired teen.

Toushirou scowled, "multiple hollows, everyone's asleep."

"Everyone but you?" He pondered with amusement.

"I was about to sleep until your reiatsu appeared."

His head nodded once, "I see… I'm sorry."

As he turned away to leave the captain, the captain called out, "why do you call out the hollow?"

"I said yesterday that I might not talk about it," he jumped down to the ground, followed by him.

Toushirou retorted after he touched the ground, "I don't want to report that you're a threat."

The teen chuckled at this as he walked off, "I thought you were a genius," he teased.

His scowl grew at this taunt, "are you trying to imply something, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo stopped in place, "when a person dies, they go to Soul Society." He then glanced up at the stars, "but when I die, I won't be allowed in Soul Society because I have a hollow within me, and it doesn't even matter if I have control over it." The teen laughed. "It doesn't matter though, huh?"

"You have helped Soul Society with numerous things including the war, you would be at least given a chance to start over." Toushirou stated, wondering what he was worried about.

"No, I don't expect to be treated different from the others that were cast away." He replied.

"You can be," the captain replied firmly, "and I'm sure you would be made a taichou."

"Taichou… huh?" Ichigo looked at the boy, "you know that I'm not cut out for that."

"At least I wouldn't have to continuously correct you on my title." He retorted.

"Ukitake-san calls you 'Shiro-chan,' doesn't he?" Snorted the teen, trying not to laugh.

His attention went elsewhere, "he's my superior in whom I have no reason to correct him."

"Jeez you're a kid." Ichigo received a violent scowl for of that. "You should be happy about it."

"You're the child because even I'm older than you, Kurosaki." The captain was angry.

'_Defensive,'_ he sighed softly and scratched the back of his to find an explanation. "In Soul Society, you're still a kid despite your maturity, but that's a good thing," the teen smiled at the boy with a content expression, "you can grasp your power at this time and even reached a bankai, so when you get to be Byakuya's age, you'll be stronger than a lot of the other taichou."

Toushirou just stared at him in disbelief from the lecture.

"I'm not trying to talk down to you—we're allies and such," he bent down to squat in front of the boy so they could look eye to eye, "for instance, I know just how powerful you are, and I could kill you easily—especially in the real world where your power is limited." His finger came up and gently poked at the boy's chest where his heart is, "but with each passing decade, you'll get stronger and might be able to kill _me_ instead." Ichigo then grinned, "I'd take pride in that advantage you have."

Toushirou took some time for this to sink in his mind.

He was aware that even though his mind has matured to a powerful degree, he was not the only one who had done such a thing; Ichimaru Gin had done practically the same thing. But Toushirou, he was still young by appearance—and no matter how you looked at him, he was just a kid, for now. In about five decades he would at least become similar to an adult, and so he would become very strong in time indeed. Having a bankai at his age made him a genius, and he was on equal grounds as the other captains as of right now. The captains did not train at all because they were already the best of the best, but Toushirou was still young, and he still had no limit. His attention went to Ichigo eye to eye finally, wondering why his speech was different from all the others. Then he recognized that he was squatting down before him; motioning that they were equals right now.

Toushirou growled and kicked the man in the chest, "I didn't give you permission to touch me."

Chuckling—after being kicked by the small captain, the orange-haired substitute was chuckling, it was possible that the teen had finally lost his mind. Ichigo settled down and sighed contentedly as he sat up and looked at Toushirou; probably the first time the captain had a chance to look down at someone instead of looking up. The small captain scowled at the fallen teen when seeing him smiling, and so he came over and placed a foot on his chest to send him back on the ground.

"I'm you're superior, Kurosaki, even if you _are_ stronger than me." Toushirou stated sternly.

"Do you think I care who's superior and inferior?" He asked curiously. "Because I really don't."

That was true and he knew it already so he didn't bother to retort, "indeed," he moved his foot.

The teen sat up once again and looked at the boy, "so, you're probably tired, right Toushirou?"

"How many times must I remind you to address me as Hitsugaya taichou?" Growled the boy.

"As many times until you realize that I ain't gonna call you by that title." Ichigo chuckled and looked to the ground, "I ain't an official shinigami, so I don't have to listen to your rules… besides…"

This made the captain cross his arms and took the bait willingly, "besides, what?"

"You're the only one that seems to care about that title, everyone else doesn't mind." Ichigo stated as he finally stood up on his two legs and dusted himself and looked up at the sky and then quietly decided to explain himself, "I was out here training, so I knew that I had myself in control." He then placed his hand on his hips as looked down at the boy, "by having a hollow presence within, they will try to take over your body and soul to their use," his eyes closed, "hey idiot, get out of here."

'_Idiot? He can't possible by addressing __**me**__ as 'idiot' right now.'_ Toushirou glared at him.

"OH! I'VE BEEN SPOTTED BY MY NUMBER ONE STUDENT!" A voice screeched happily.

Ichigo growled and kicked him in the head, "I ain't your student Kanonji. What're you doing here?"

Toushirou stared at the psychotic man and placed a hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto, "…"

"No," the teen called to the boy, "he's not a threat," then explained, "he's just a human."

"ICHIGO! I NEED YOUR HELP! I SENSED ALL THESE BAD SPIRITS AND THEY VANISHED!" Kanonji, the psychotic television showman, had cried desperately and clung to Ichigo's leg.

"What are you talking about, I alright took care of them all," Ichigo shoved him off, "go away."

His attention went to the white-haired boy, "you must be his subordinate, are you willing to join—"

"He has no intention of bothering himself with unnecessary humans," retorted the teen instantly.

"SO MEAN! HERE I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU AND YOU WEREN'T AT HOME!"

Ichigo sighed at this, "I can't take this anymore," he used a flash step to appear behind him, "hey, Toushirou. Let's get out of here, otherwise you'll get a headache just by listening to him…"

"I'm already receiving a headache," Toushirou growled in annoyance, "humans are weird."

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!" Kanonji yelled in completely surprise. "CAN YOUR SISTERS—"

Ichigo's reiatsu then flared furiously. "You will leave my sisters out of your silly imagination, and don't you dare put them in trouble, or I will hunt you down," he summoned the spirit threads and grabbed Kanonji's, "and I'll make that you regret having them involved." With that, he vanished.

Toushirou snorted and followed Ichigo.

* * *

><p>"Careless weren't you?" The boy asked. "Were you trying to scare that man?"<p>

"I wanted to make my point clear that I don't want him to be around my family." Ichigo sighed.

He crossed his arms at this, "and so by scaring him, you think you have got it through his head."

"No," his reply was quiet, "I know my statement won't reach his skull and pass by on it as usual."

"Then what was the point of threatening him with your reiatsu and tone?" The captain scowled.

"Oh? You do the same when you're angry, like yesterday when I said Aizen's name." He replied.

That was the truth, so he sighed at this, "well, whatever, I should return to Inoue Orihime's."

"Ichigo!" A girl's voice whined.

The teen's eyes widened at name and looked down, "R-Ririn, what are you doing here?"

"You're causing such a commotion that I got worried!" The girl in the gigai called worriedly.

He sighed and rubbed her head, "everything's okay," he grumbled. "You'll worry the others."

"Wah! But you were the one worrying me so I had to come check on you!" Ririn sobbed.

"Okay, okay," he knelt down to the girl, "calm down though, I'm sorry I worried you."

The girl wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, sniffling. "…"

Ichigo sighed and lifted her in one arm. "its way past your bedtime."

"I don't have a bedtime you jerk!" Sobbed Ririn. "Don't pick on me either!"

"Oh yeah? I'm gonna tell Kon that you were crying like a baby then." He grinned.

Toushirou watched as the modified soul clung to Kurosaki as if they were best friends and sobbed about his safety, why was that? Now the teen was trying to embarrass the one who is crying out of complete worry for him—why would he do that? Looking at the two, he notice that the two were smiling and laughing together; what they hell did the small captain just miss? His eyes widened when he felt a hand on his head and looked up to see that it was Ichigo who had his hand on him.

"What's the matter Toushirou?" Ichigo asked curiously. "Are you _**that**_ tired?"

Immediately he smacked his hand away, "mind your own business Kurosaki."

Ririn frowned at this, "he's so mean to you Ichigo, I should beat him up!"

"Why? Aren't you just as tired ya brat?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"I want to sleep at Ichigo's house, the shop is so boring." She huffed.

"Alright, alright, you got your stuffed animal thing though, right?"

"Of course I do! Let's go, let's go!" Ririn whined obnoxiously.

"Alright already!" He growled in annoyance. "We're going."

Toushirou snorted, "so I don't have to be escorted this time?"

Ichigo turned to look at him, "you're invisible to the human eye so I don't have to worry about guys trying to mess with you," he blinked confusedly. After a moment though he spoke again, "if you want me to take you over to Inoue's apartment first though, that's fine," he looked to Ririn, "you don't mind us taking him home first right? It's not far from here after all—"

"I didn't say I needed to be escorted Kurosaki!" Toushirou fumed angrily.

He looked at the little guy and sighed, "how about you go back to the shop for tonight? You might've worried the others by leaving unannounced, but you can come tomorrow."

"What?! But you just said—!" Ririn was interrupted by teen who placed her down.

"Just do this for me, 'kay?" Ichigo smiled warmly and rustled her hair again, "tomorrow, I promise."

"Humph! I don't even want to go to your place anymore!" She pouted and left instantly.

"Girls," he sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Toushirou, how are you holding it up?"

The captain raised and eyebrow, "excuse me?"

"Your eyes are drooping." He explained easily.

"I don't need an escort." His mouth opened to yawn.

"Keh, you're gonna be a brat too?" Ichigo came over to him.

Suspicious of his approach, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, "Kurosaki…"

"You aren't going to cut me, are you?" He knelt down, "am I really a threat?"

Toushirou released the hilt slowly as he eyed at him, "…not necessarily."

"All right then, what am I to you then?" The teen asked rather seriously.

He did not know what he truly meant by this. Wondering if it had anything to do with yesterday so he looked to the ground with his arms crossed again from after the girl left, "if this is at all about yesterday… I'll have you know that it wasn't my fault that your friends accused you of being a homosexual—if anything it was your own fault for whatever the reason was."

"What, you mean that's on your mind still?" Ichigo snorted. "They were joking."

"Then why are you asking what you are to me?" He glared. "I have no opinion."

"You're a stubborn _kid_, aren't you." The teen chuckled, "am I friend or foe?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo is a substitute shinigami and an important ally to Soul Society."

"I ain't asking a taichou, I'm asking Toushirou if I'm a friend or foe." He replied casually.

The captain turned to him with a tired glare, "I said you were an ally, what more do you need?"

Ichigo dipped his head and chuckled, "that's all I am to you, huh? Just an ally?"

"I don't see it necessary to call one, such as yourself, a 'friend' when I don't know you."

"That's a shame," he then grabbed the small captain and carried him against his chest easily.

"K-Kurosaki you bastard!" Toushirou yelled furiously at the demoted position as Ichigo walked off.

"Shut up or you'll draw Hollow." He stated seriously. "You're tired aren't you? Just rest…"

The small captain growled and gritted through his teeth, "release me right now or so help me…"

"Having more than one friend ain't that bad, Toushirou." His voice softened. "They give strength."

For the moment, he stopped fidgeting at this, _'strength,'_ didn't the girls say that yesterday at noon?

Ichigo shifted the boy to a more comfortable position for them both, "do you understand that?"

"Your strength…" the small white-haired captain called out, "it comes from your friends…?"

"That Hinamori girl, she's your friend right? You would do anything for her?" He waited for the little one to reply, but he did not and so he continued anyway. "A person can be strong, a person who is together with their zanpakuto is stronger, but a person who wants to protect another is immortal." A soft breeze crossed their path through the starry sky. "I was able to stop Rukia's execution only because I was immortal—I had my friends there to support me, if I died, they would die, so I could never stop until the job was done. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"That you're an idiot that doesn't give up easily?" Toushirou grumbled against Ichigo's chest.

"Chad won't fight for himself, but he'll fight for me, and so I fight for him." The orange-haired teen stated. "I think you have that similar way of living, but you go through orders by that old guy."

"Don't disrespect your elders, especially towards Yamamoto sotaichou," he growled in annoyance.

His head shook at this, but continued, "why do you fight? Why are you a taichou?"

"Those answers," the small one paused tiredly, "are none of your business."

"What is your strength?" Ichigo finally asked quietly to the captain.

His eyes closed in thought but gave no answer. "…"

"To become strong, I fight to protect others that need me, and the more friends I make means that I have to become stronger to protect them all." Ichigo looked at the boy. "If you can get close to others—enough to call them a friend, enough to know them and protect them with your life…"

"…I'll be stronger," Toushirou grumbled.

The small captain had tried to resist against the orange-haired teenager but had to quiet down or else his reiatsu could attract some Hollow, so he had stopped yelling. He stopped fidgeting when he submitted to learn what his strength was and how he would obtain it from his friends. His ears listened to every word spoken to him as his eyes grew tired and his body grew heavy against the other's chest. Toushirou mentally told himself that he was going to refuse falling asleep on the chest of Kurosaki Ichigo, but he could feel the shared warmth. How many hours had he been out after sensing his reiatsu and then the Hollow—it had to be at least two or three. Every part of his body was heavy, even his eyes and head as it head casually until given in, and his mind drowsy.

'_Stay awake… damn it…'_ Toushirou tried to think.

He began losing his conscious awareness of where he was—the fact that Kurosaki Ichigo was the one carrying in a comfortable position was all that was barely registered now. Soon though, his mind gave up, and he fell fast asleep against the chest of the substitute shinigami instantly. His arms fell from their resistant perch on Ichigo's shoulder; one fell to the side and the other lowered to Ichigo's chest. The orange-haired teen looked at the boy to see that he had given in to sleep, but it was no wonder because it was around four in the morning. Jeez, how was he supposed to go to school tomorrow and try to drag this guy along—they needed at least five or six hours of well needed sleep, not two or three. Ichigo's attention went forth to see an orange-haired woman rushing towards them, and he mentally begged that she would stir the sleeper awake immediately.

"Don't worry Rangiku-san, he's just asleep." Ichigo whispered.

She frowned, "he had me worried, and all this time he was with you."

"I was finishing off the Hollow a few hours ago when he came to kill them."

Rangiku looked at the sleeping boy, "I've never seen him sleep so peacefully."

"Anyway," the teen called out, "should I bring him into Inoue's place?"

She frowned softly, "he might wake up if you leave, can you take him?"

The orange-haired teen thought about it for the moment and sighed, "sure, but I'll need that faux body to come with me or else we would have to make a trip here tomorrow."

"I'll go get him then," Rangiku replied as she turned around to get the—

"Before you do that, can you slip his arm over my shoulder so I can balance him?"

Smiling, she turned back around and placed Toushirou's arm over Ichigo's shoulder, "there."

After she left to get the faux body with the soul in his, he looked down to the captain, _'…brat.'_


End file.
